Schumer Introducing New Legislation to ‘Protect’ Social Security
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently announced he intends to introduce new legislation in September that he said aims to counter President Donald Trump’s “damaging cuts to the Social Security Administration.”
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A press release about the new bill, “The Keep Billionaires out of Social Security Act,” says it would “invest in preventing Social Security field office closures, hire new staff, protect beneficiaries’ data, and make long-needed modernizations and upgrades to reduce wait times and improve access for the vital service that over 203,000 Southern Tier seniors rely on.”
The bill’s prospects for advancement are bleak, given the GOP’s majorities in Congress and that it is expected to have no bipartisan support. But there could be political utility in introducing it—even if it fails procedurally—as a tool for Democrats to highlight Republican opposition to protecting access to Social Security in advance of mid-term elections.
Meanwhile, the Social Security Administration (SSA) recent said it is making “substantial progress” in improving service delivery outcomes (see section below).
Schumer said in his release that seniors deserve easy access to the benefits they earned, “but right now Trump & ‘DOGE’ are breaking Social Security. ‘DOGE’ has already fired thousands of Social Security workers, and seniors are stuck with long wait times, overwhelmed phone lines, and websites that keep crashing.”
He added that Social Security offices in the Southern Tier and Upstate New York have seen nearly all local offices lose workers, with some losing more than a quarter of staff.
“If no one can take your call, if the website keeps crashing, if they fire the staff that processes your claims, if they make it impossible for you to get the help you need, that’s a cut to your Social Security benefits, and I won’t stand for it,” Schumer said. “We need to invest and protect Social Security. That is why I am announcing that I will be pushing new legislation with Senate Democrats to reverse these Trump cuts, hire more workers, stop local offices from closing, and make Social Security more efficient for our seniors.”
The press release said Senate Democrats will introduce the legislation in September that would:
• “Stop field offices from closure and increase staffing, reversing previous cuts and prohibiting closures without congressional approval. It would boost staffing levels to help reduce wait times and ensure beneficiaries can continue to make appointments in person and speak with live representatives on the phone, not robotic call services.”
• “Boost funding for Social Security to $5 billion annually to create the modern Social Security Administration our seniors deserve, making long-needed upgrades and providing grants to improve technology, reduce claim backlogs, and enhance customer service.”
• “Improve access for beneficiaries by reversing Trump cuts, increasing support to protect beneficiaries, and restoring limits on benefit clawbacks that could otherwise drastically reduce benefits for seniors who have done nothing wrong.”
• “Protect your Social Security data. The bill imposes civil and criminal penalties for improper access to sensitive Social Security records and blocks unauthorized access from groups like ‘DOGE’ or other political interference in people’s Social Security.”
Schumer said that for too long, “the SSA has been underfunded, but now, amid ‘DOGE’ cuts, the Social Security system is breaking, with former Social Security Administrators and experts saying these cuts could collapse the system.”
He pointed to repeated website crashes, overwhelmed phone lines, long wait times for appointments, “and even mass confusion as ‘DOGE’ listed local Southern Tier offices near Elmira, N.Y. for closure and then seemingly backed off weeks later after public pressure.”
SSA says progress being made
The Social Security Administration (SSA) recently issued a press release announcing “substantial progress” in service delivery outcomes resulting from focused technology enhancements and process engineering.
“These improvements reflect Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano’s strategic vision to modernize SSA’s customer service—meeting people where they are, addressing customer needs at the first point of contact, and improving outcomes across all channels,” the release states.
“Our vision is centered on providing outstanding service that works for everyone we serve—whether they call, walk into a field office, or choose to manage their benefits online,” Bisignano said. “We are transforming the customer experience, investing in technology to build frontline capacity, and using real-time data to monitor performance across the board. We are delivering higher levels of customer service—and this will continue.”
The release noted recent accomplishments resulting in improved service to the American people including:
• SSA is handling more calls with a faster response time. The agency handled nearly 1.3 million calls on the National 800 Number in mid-July, or 70% more than the same week last fiscal year, while reducing the average speed of answer to 6 minutes. This response time is down from an average of 18 minutes so far this year and 30 minutes last year, or an 80% reduction.
• SSA is reducing field office wait times. The agency reduced the wait time in field offices to 23 minutes so far this year, compared to 30 minutes last year, or a 23% reduction.
“Our strategy is clear: serve customer needs quickly and completely, no matter how they contact us,” Bisignano said. “We will continue to evaluate our tools, technology, and processes to empower our workforce to provide best-in-class customer service to the American people.”
SEE ALSO:
• Most Older Americans Fear Social Security Benefits Will Be Cut
• Bumping the Social Security FRA While Shielding Benefits for Low-Income Workers
• Senate Confirms Bisignano to Lead Social Security in Party Line Vote
Veteran financial services industry journalist Brian Anderson joined 401(k) Specialist as Managing Editor in January 2019. He has led editorial content for a variety of well-known properties including Insurance Forums, Life Insurance Selling, National Underwriter Life & Health, and Senior Market Advisor. He has always maintained a focus on providing readers with timely, useful information intended to help them build their business.
